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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25363744">razor's edge</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/someonesickness/pseuds/someonesickness'>someonesickness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(Don't worry he gets patched up), Cat Ears, Forced Crossdressing, Honey, Knifeplay, M/M, Mild Blood, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:55:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,916</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25363744</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/someonesickness/pseuds/someonesickness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ya agreed t'one thing. This is it." Kohaku straddles him, slowly pushing Rinne back onto the bed with the palm of his hand. The knife hangs loose in his fingers by his thigh, and he tilts his head, eyes narrowed. "I ain't a bad person though, Rinne-han. If ya don't wanna do it, ya can back out. If I go too far, ya can say so, too."</p><p>After a moment, he adds: "I ain't gonna kill ya either, promise. There's a lot more ya can do with a knife."</p><p>"You're into some real freaky shit," Rinne replies, the pause before it long and thoughtful. "Use yer stinger on me, Kohaku-chan. I'll be a good boy and take it."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amagi Rinne/Oukawa Kohaku</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>razor's edge</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>There's no excuse for this outside of thinking about Kohaku in cat ears and cutting up Rinne. It didn't quite go the way I wanted it to, but... it's okay. Anyway, this story references my other one a little bit, but I wouldn't considering it necessary reading.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"That luck of yers'll run out one of these days," Kohaku says on his seventh loss of the night, and Rinne only grins in reply. Kohaku sighs as he pushes the last of his betting chips - literal chips, the bag crinkling under his touch - and crosses his arms. "That's the last of my snacks."</p><p>"Tch, really?" Rinne leans forward, scrutinizing the chips, then groans and slumps backwards. His chair almost leans all the way back, threatening tipping, and Kohaku lets the disappointment of Rinne not falling to the ground show on his face. Not that Rinne notices: he's too busy rubbing his head with a sigh, looking off. "Damn, Kohaku-chan... I don't want that shit."</p><p>"What're you callin' shit, Rinne-han? Ain't a single thing wrong with plain chips."</p><p>"They're lifeless. I'm not for that kinda life, y'know? So," Rinne rolls his head to the side as he speaks, smile crooked, "I want somethin' better."</p><p>Kohaku gets the feeling he knows what it is, considering the conversation from the other day, but he opens his bag of chips and pops one in his mouth. If Rinne's not gonna eat 'em, he will - he'd been hoping he could win them back and more anyway. The dry saltiness tastes better then he remembers, though that might just be because he hasn't had anything to eat since they started their game of cards. He hadn't realized how hungry he was before he started, and he licks his fingers free of crumbs as Rinne opens his fat mouth again:</p><p>"You, a pair of cat ears, and a cute little number of a dress. Call me master and meow like a sweet baby kitten."</p><p>Kohaku makes a face, bag crinkling.</p><p>"Said I'd kill ya before I did that, didn't I? I'm not takin' your bet, Rinne-han --"</p><p>"So you're scared my luck ain't gonna run out, huh?" Rinne sighs. The sigh, paired with the way he waves his hand like he's swirling a glass of wine, gets right under Kohaku's skin. "Damn, Kohaku-chan... Didn't think losing last time spooked you that bad."</p><p>He pauses like that's the last thing he'll say on the matter, his imaginary wine glass tipping forward, and Kohaku imagines red wine spilling across the floor in front of him. Just as he expects, though, Rinne keeps on yapping. "Guess I can't blame you though. Got pretty rough, huh? Y'had bruises for a couple days -- the look on yer face when Merumeru asked what happened was the <em>real</em> treat."</p><p>"I can't frickin' stand you," Kohaku replies, shoving his chips away in favor of gathering their cards together and shuffling them with a more fluid hand than might be expected of him. "If I win, lemme do whatever I want to ya instead."</p><p>"Now I almost wanna lose," Rinne says, reaching over to take the cards dealt out to him, "just to see whatcha'd do to me, Kohaku-chan."</p><p>They're empty words - it isn't like Rinne only places bets he knows he can win, but he never tries to lose - and Kohaku smiles, all teeth and with a promise laying heavy on his tongue.</p><p>Just like he guesses, though, he loses, and he drags his feet all the way back to Rinne's apartment. He doesn't want to look like a sore loser - though he definitely is - but he doesn't want to put on a dress and act like a cat for however long it takes for Rinne to get bored. Niki isn't home (at least one god is on his side tonight), and he rests on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, white and chic to match the little table in front of it. There's another chair opposite his, with the kitchen filling one side of the one-room apartment and a bathroom sink type area on the other. He glances at the television and wonders if it's just for show or if they actually watch it, resting together in the bed closest to the divider that splits the apartment in two.</p><p>Movement by the sliding closet door catches his attention before he can analyze the room any further, and Rinne's happy whistle gives him a few guesses as to what's good. Kohaku straightens up at the sight of the short navy blue cheongsam -- he'd admire the pretty little details too, like the gold and silver accents, if he didn't know he was going into it in about ten minutes, if that. Rinne wiggles it at him, grin stretching wider, and Kohaku remembers the way his name is written.</p><p>
  <em>Oni.</em>
</p><p>"Pick somethin' else." As useless as it is to argue, given he's the one who lost, he tries anyway. Rinne shakes his head, tossing him the dress, and Kohaku scowls as he barely catches it. At least it feels nice - the fabric is silky smooth in his hands, and it feels light. Breathable, maybe, and he loosens his jacket on the way to the washroom.</p><p>It doesn't fit - it's a little too big for him a little too long, and the idea that Niki's the one who usually wears this flits into his mind unbidden. At least that explains the color, but --</p><p>He brushes it away. What Rinne and Niki get up to in their spare time is none of his business.</p><p>He's not about to get into the business of crossdressing either, especially not after Rinne whistles long and slow as he steps from the washroom - especially not at the appraising look, or the touch that follows Rinne's stepping closer, running on the hem of his dress and up the slit against his thigh. Kohaku shivers despite himself, wholly unused to the feeling, and doesn't avert his eyes from Rinne's face. The expression he has is the same as the other night - interested and curious all in the same breath, a heat in his eyes that can't be excused with alcohol. Kohaku tilts his head out of Rinne's hand when it comes to rest on his cheek, eyes narrowing.</p><p>"Ya said ya wanted t'put cat ears on me, Rinne-han?"</p><p>"Yeah, yeah -- didn't think ya'd want 'em on so soon. One sec."</p><p>He takes a few jolly skips to the space between the two beds, pulling up a plastic bag and dumping it onto the bed closest to the divider. Kohaku follows, leaning against the wall as he takes stock of Rinne's toys: the cat ears he'd promised, a plug with a matching tail, a red collar with a little silver bell...</p><p>"Jus' how long have ya been waitin' to pin me into this?" Kohaku asks before he can help himself, snatching the tail and twirling it between his fingers. Rinne shrugs, laissez-faire as ever, and picks up the cat ears. They're cute little white ones, and the headband is uncomfortable on his head when Rinne puts it on him. It feels too tight, though that might just be because he's not used to having anything like this on. It isn't too distracting though, and he leans away before Rinne can snap the collar on his neck.</p><p>"Never agreed to that, Rinne-han," he says to the pout thrown his way, though he wraps the tail around his wrist and adds, after a moment: "If ya can win another bet, ya can put it on me. This thing, too."</p><p>"Same bet, or two different ones?"</p><p>"Different." Just to give him some breathing room. He tosses the butt plug back onto the bed, finding himself more curious about it than he means to be. "Makes it interestin', don't it? And if ya lose even once, we gotta do somethin' I wanna do."</p><p>"One thing," Rinne says after a long moment of thinking, raising his finger. "Can't be leavin' me high and dry."</p><p>That's not fair, considering, but Kohaku's gaze drifts to Niki's knifeblock and he smiles.</p><p>"Fine. We in agreement, Rinne-han? Bet's on?"</p><p>"Bet's on." Rinne sits on the bed, patting his lap. "Now c'mere, kitten. What're we playin'?"</p><p>They decide on a game of find the honey - Kohaku rolls his eyes at how hard Rinne likes to lean into the whole bee thing, but shivers when he feels his tongue against his throat and the jar of <em>very</em> expensive honey Niki buys ("High quality ingredients makes for high quality food," probably) is pushed into his hand. Rinne closes his eyes the way he's supposed to, hands hanging loose at his sides. He looks as relaxed as ever, but his feet begin to tap against the wooden floor the longer Kohaku takes in deciding where to place some honey.</p><p>He has to, though. If he doesn't, he'll lose, and he doesn't think Rinne's the type to go with the collar first win. The honey is sweet and sticky on his tongue - there's no way Rinne'll find it there, and while it might be a little underhanded... he's used to it. He's just careful not to swallow it, setting the small jar of honey down audible on the bedside table and turning the timer on his phone to ten minutes.</p><p>"Good t'go, Rinne-han."</p><p>"Took you long enough," Rinne grumbles, but his hands are on Kohaku's waist in an instant, and his tongue returns to his skin soon after; Kohaku shivers as Rinne's hands roam, pressing against his cheongsam as if searching for the honey beneath the dress - fine, he would've put it there if he thought he could manage, so what? - and feels his dick twitch the more impatient Rinne gets to find the sticky sweetness slowly dissolving on his tongue. The handling gets rougher, Rinne throwing him back down on the bed and shoving his hands up Kohaku's dress with a huff, and Kohaku almost chokes on his spit trying not to swallow the honey when he breathes in too sharply at the force with which Rinne shoves apart his legs. He isn't given a moment to catch his breath either, having to shove Rinne off before he can sit up and keep himself from dying the world's most embarrassing death.</p><p>He doesn't taste the sweetness on his tongue after, and he swallows heavily. Rinne sighs as he sits back, raking his hands through his messy red hair. In perfect timing, his phone goes off, signaling the end of the round - Rinne glowers at it, but Kohaku exhales slowly in relief and hides the smile that neatly locks into place on his face as he turns to turn it off.</p><p>"Your loss," he says, back still turned. Rinne fires off a sound of annoyance (part groan, part unintelligible swear), and Kohaku laughs quietly. "Means I get to do whatever I wanna, right? Don't worry, I'm a man of m'word, Rinne-han. I won't do ya dirty like ya did me."</p><p>As tempting as it is to break that and give him a taste of his own medicine... Kohaku shakes his head as he slides off the bed and steps light to the kitchen area. He can feel Rinne's gaze following him; he hears the bed creak slightly as Rinne leans forward; and his blood pulses in his ears when Rinne lets out a whistle at the way Kohaku tugs the paring knife free of its hole. He studies it in the light, running his thumb along the smooth blade. It stings after a moment, blood welling up on the shallow cut, and he sucks at the small wound as he makes his way back to Rinne. Rinne's eyes follow the glinting metal of the knife, lips parted slightly, and he points at it with a chuckle.</p><p>"Y'gonna use that on me?"</p><p>"Ya agreed t'one thing. This is it." Kohaku straddles him, slowly pushing Rinne back onto the bed with the palm of his hand. The knife hangs loose in his fingers by his thigh, and he tilts his head, eyes narrowed. "I ain't a bad person though, Rinne-han. If ya don't wanna do it, ya can back out. If I go too far, ya can say so, too."</p><p>After a moment, he adds: "I ain't gonna kill ya either, promise. There's a lot more ya can do with a knife."</p><p>"You're into some real freaky shit," Rinne replies, the pause before it long and thoughtful. "Use yer stinger on me, Kohaku-chan. I'll be a good boy and take it."</p><p>"Yer gonna bitch the whole way through," he retorts, but he obliges Rinne. The first cut is in his viewpoint, short and thin and carefully placed from the artery Kohaku knows runs along the arm. Rinne hisses in pain, and Kohaku wipes the knife clean on his dress; he uses the bedsheets to pressure the cut he's made on Rinne's arm until the bleeding stems, and then he makes another. The grimaces and little noises are music to his ears - the sharp gasps when he moves on to pressing the back of the knife against Rinne's neck, turning it as he ghosts over collarbones and cuts down the center of his shirt.</p><p>It isn't like <em>he's</em> gonna be the who's gotta explain it all to Niki later, after all.</p><p>What surprises him is that Rinne <em>doesn't</em> complain one lick. He grimaces and winces and yelps and all of that, but he never complains - never says a word. He isn't unaffected (though he isn't turned on the way Kohaku is), but he's not <em>affected</em>, either. At least, not the way Kohaku wants him to be, and he trails the knife gently along Rinne's ribs, his skin prickling at the way his breath hitches at the tip's gentle pressure against flesh and bone.</p><p>"Y'wanna hear what you can do with knives, Rinne-han?" Kohaku asks, voice innocent. He adds pressure to the knife, gaze transfixed on the blood that wells up on the steel. "...Y'wanna hear what <em>I</em> can do with one?</p><p>"There's a lot more than ya think, depending on the knife. I'm used t'making do with what I got, but I like ones ya can throw. They're nice an' light," he continues, flipping the knife to his other hand with practiced ease. There wasn't a lot else to do in the small breaks he had. "Thin blades. They get under the skin real well."</p><p>"You kill people with those?" Rinne asks when Kohaku falls silent, the quiet prompting him a question. "They'd never take down anythin' back home, man."</p><p>And not for the first time does Kohaku wonder what kind of home Rinne comes from, what he's taking down; and not for the first time does Kohaku brush it aside for another time and concentrate on what's at hand.</p><p>"If ya strike the right place, ya can kill just fine. Humans all got the same weak points." Kohaku sets his knife aside to press his fingers to the cuts Rinne's sustained, to the ones he's caused, forcing more blood up. Forcing Rinne to suck in a sharp breath he feels under his fingertips and that goes straight to the pooling heat in his stomach. He moves off of Rinne, smearing the blood thin on the stretch of his stomach and down his side; he leaves faint, red fingerprints as he digs his thumbs under Rinne's waist and pushes him. "Turn over, Rinne-han."</p><p>"It's gonna hurt like hell thouuugh," he whines in reply, and Kohaku's blood picks up in his ears. Yes - that's what he wants to hear: Rinne going to pieces one way or another, and he pushes him again until Rinne complies and rolls over onto his stomach, groaning loudly. It really must hurt, the pressure and sheets both; the latter are rough under his knees as he gets a little comfier and as he pulls Rinne's shirt the rest of the way off. He watches the lithe muscles flex and tense under the slightly slippery touch of his finger, entranced by the way they jump at the introduction of the knife. The first cut on his back is as shallow as the rest, the sigh slipping from his lips nothing short of exhilarated at Rinne's shaking.</p><p>"Back home," Kohaku starts softly, entranced by the way the blood smells heady and metallic when he leans closer to kiss the back of Rinne's neck, "I had t'go through the same kinda thing. I know whatcher feelin', Rinne-han. I like bein' on the receivin' end more, if ya wanna know a secret, but I betcha don't have the stomach for this. Animals and humans are just different enough that it'll make even the best hunter think twice, right?</p><p>"But I hunt humans." He lets the words hang in the air, focusing more on kissing the single long cut he's given Rinne already and wonders if the gasps beneath him, the barely-contained struggling - if they're pleasure, or pain. He continues when he untucks the bedsheet and pulls it up to clean the cut of blood, not gentle at all in the way he wipes it down. "When I gotta - when I'm ordered to, or when I gotta act, no way around it."</p><p>Kohaku breathes in slowly, dragging light the blade's tip on the stretch of Rinne's back. "I wasn't lyin' when I said you'd be dead before ya put me in somethin' like this, Rinne-han, but you're more important than some crappy pair of cat ears."</p><p>"That's so sweet of ya to say," Rinne replies, his smart mouth finally getting back to working. Kohaku'd been under the impression he hadn't been enjoying this at all, but there's a rough rawness to his voice that suggests otherwise - or maybe it's the physical aspect he's been slowly introducing, less steel and more silk. He's half considering he might need to reintroduce the steel part, though. The idea seems a little more attractive when Rinne keeps on talking, turning his face so he can watch Kohaku from the corner of his eye. "My heart's gonna flutter right on outta my chest if y'keep on with that kinda pillow talk, Kohaku-chan."</p><p>"I still got the knife, Rinne-han," he reminds him, and Rinne laughs.</p><p>Kohaku's lips purse, and he slides off the bed. There's a lovely tightening in his stomach when he hears Rinne scramble in sitting up, the bed squealing under his sudden movements and the shift of weight. "You can't just leave me like this, Kohaku-chan!"</p><p>"Ya prolly know how to take care of yerself, right?" He glances over his shoulder, flicking the tap on and turning it until the water pours scalding over his fingers. He switches his gaze back to his work at hand, washing the blade carefully. He'd have to find some alcohol to sterilize it so Niki could still use it on food - he needs some anyway to patch Rinne up. "I ain't your mamma, y'know."</p><p>Rinne groans, but it sounds louder - it is louder, his hands sliding up Kohaku's dress a moment later to palm the hardness underneath, and Kohaku raises the hot knife on instinct; he stops millimeters from the thin, tender skin of the other's throat. It's a long moment before he lowers the knife, setting it on the counter; it's a little longer after that Rinne turns him around and pushes him against the sink, and Kohaku grits his teeth from the steam and spray of the hot water soaking into the back of his dress. They size one another up like predators meeting for the first time (the way they had the first time they'd met, a quick judgment of danger before falling into what'd since become old habit), and Kohaku purposefully presses his thumb against one of the cuts he'd given Rinne earlier.</p><p>"I'll clean ya up," he says just above the hissing of the faucet. "So stop actin' like a baby who's just shit himself, alright? Get offa me."</p><p>"You're cuter when you're drunk," Rinne retorts, but he lets Kohaku go.</p><p>The bath is easy enough to set up, and he calls Rinne once things are ready. In no time at all Rinne's naked before him, and in less time the water runs rose pink under the spray of the bath attachment. The sharp breaths he earns make him smile, and he keeps on until the water runs clear again. It stays clean when Rinne moves to the tub, and Kohaku undresses for a quick rinse before he slides in, too. Rinne's eyebrows raise as water spills from the tub, and Kohaku tries to make himself comfortable despite the bath's faucet too close to digging into his shoulder.</p><p>"...Ya think I was gonna just let y'relax in here alone?" He shifts again, but what little comfort he finds only lasts a few moment. "—Maybe I ought've, considerin' how frickin' uncomfortable this is."</p><p>"Ain't so bad if you sit on my lap," Rinne replies, and Kohaku watches him thoughtfully before he shifts over and settles on his thighs. Rinne's hands slide up his ass, one staying there while the other rests on his hip, and they meet in the middle, noses bumping and teeth catching on lips. Rinne draws first blood this time, his tongue pressing against Kohaku's bottom lip to force more out, and Kohaku hisses at the sting of it - it's certainly nothing compared to what he'd done to Rinne before, but he knows it's revenge all the same. It doesn't take much to get either of them hard again, and it doesn't take that much to get Rinne swearing under his breath again, either. </p><p>Or over the sloshing water, arching under Kohaku as he jerks him off in quick and steady strokes. His own breathing is more ragged than he'd like, and he hates that he comes as hard as he does when Rinne tenses up beneath him and covers his eyes with his arm. Kohaku kisses him on the cheek in a mockery of shyness, unable to kill the smirk that pulls at his mouth when Rinne's eyes open and his head lolls over to his shoulder to stare at him, and his legs shake as he climbs from the bath.</p><p>Rinne doesn't try to stop him, but he exits a while later, rubbing his hair dry with a hand towel. Kohaku's already dressed in his own clothes, and he motions Rinne to sit.</p><p>He doesn't miss the scowl he's given, and he frowns right back, hands on his hips.</p><p>"Ya want me to fix ya up or what, Rinne-han?"</p><p>"I can take care of myself," he says, but he directs Kohaku to the first aid kit and the alcohol without much more prompting. He gripes like hell about it though, flinching away at the first touch of cotton swab against a cut. "—Shit, warn a guy first why don'tcha!"</p><p>"Wouldn't have changed the fact it's gonna hurt," Kohaku replies steadily, jerking his arm back towards him and going back to work. "Sit still or I'm gonna start pourin' it on ya instead."</p><p>"You're way too cruel for a kid yer age," Rinne mutters, and Kohaku's pretty sure he's not supposed to hear it - genuinely, he thinks he's not supposed to - but the night is quiet, and the soft, grumbled words are the only things that catch his ear. He doesn't think Rinne means it, either; he's never complained or commented about it outside of joking around or trying to get a rise out of him, and this situation is neither of those. </p><p>Kohaku exhales slowly and applies bandages where he needs to. Niki's paring knife gets set in a glass of alcohol to sterilize, and he steps out of the apartment with his things in hand, relishing the wet coolness of the summer against his cheeks.</p>
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